Garment-pressing machine



March s; 192s. 1,661,153 H. G. BEEDE GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 11, 1927 35 vf/vToR 3b @99A BM VW /YTToR/v YS.

Patented Mar. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES l HERBERT G. BEEDE, 0F PAWTUCKET, RHDE ISLAND.

GARMENT-PRESSING MACHINE.

Application tiled January 11, 1.927. Seriallo. 160,369.

This invention relates to a garment pressing machine adapted to be used in tailoring, dry cleaning, laundrying, clothing manufacturing and other establishments for steaming, sterilizing, shaping and drying garments in practically 011e operation or setting, and refers more particularl to the actuating and controlling means for lie movable press ing element.

In machines 'of this character the upper pressing element, commonly known as the head, is hinged upon the main supporting frame to swing vertically about an axis parallel with and some distance to the rear of the longitudinal center of the lower pressing element 'or buck and is preferably operated by a pedal lever through the medium of one or more toggles.

The main object of the present invention is to` provide a simplified leverage 4system in which the forces applied to flex the toggles in reverse directions for operating the presshead to and from its pressing position are more nearly in the direction of exion of the toggle joints and, therefore, more normal to a direct line between the toggle pivots in all positions of adjustment thus permitting the press-head to be brought to its pressing position with greater ease and greater pressure and with less power applied to the pedal lever than has heretofore been practised.' Another object is to provide an adjustable resilient connection between the main toggle and 'press head to compensate for Varying degrees of closing movement upon work of different thicknesses in which a relatively high degree of yielding resistance may be obtained through a comparatively light spring wholly at oneside of the toggle.

Other objects and uses relating to specific pai-ts of the machine will be broughtout in the following description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a garment pressing machine embodying the various features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the rear end of the head supporting arm taken on the plane of line 2 2, Figure 1.

As illustrated, this machine comprises a main supporting frame --1 of any suitable form, size or material adapted to rest upon a floor or other foundation for receiving and supporting cooperative pressing elements and I5- together with other parts of the lmachine inY operative position most convement for carrying out the objects stated.

he upper pressing element -3- 'is mounted upon the front end of a vertically movable rock arm or lever -vof the firstkind which is fulcrumed or pivoted intermedlate its ends at ,-5- to an upwardly extending bracket -6- on the rear portion of the frame -1 to swing about a horizontal.,

axis parallel with and some distance to the rear of the longitudinalcenter of the buck -2- for moving the press head into and out of pressing co-action with the buck, said bracket -6- and fulcrum 5 being disposed some distance to the rear of the buck to leave ample space for the manipulation of the garments around and upon the buck preparatory to pressing. Therear 'end of the head-supporting arm 4- 1s provided with a reduced extension -11 having parallel sides for receiving a counter-weight -7-- which is placed over and upon the 'extension and held in operative position by a removable key -12 and is recessed in its underside and front end for receivmg portions of the yielding connections between the rear toggle and head-supporting arm -4--.

The extension -11- is also provided with a vertical opening therethrough and a lengthwise slot therein for receiving portions of the connections between the rear toggle lever and head-supporting'arm as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

Head operating means.

The head supporting arm 4 and its press head -3- are operated and controlled by a system of toggle levers' and links arranged in such manner that the force applied to each toggle is substantially normal or at right angles to a direct line between the fulcrum of the toggle lever and toggle joint and approximately normal to a direct line between the fulcrum and point of connection of the toggle lever with themember to which the power is to be applied whereby the press head may be moved to and from its pressing position with greater ease and rapldlty of motion and with less fore been practised.

As illustrated, this leverage system com-- power than has heretoend at -18-d to said frame, the front end of the pedal-lever being extended forwardly -beyond the front portion ot' the frame and provided with a may be depressed.

The link -14- is pivoted at its lower end at -20* to the intermediate portion of the pedal lever -19 and has its upper end pivotally connected at 2l- 'to the shorter arm of the bell-crank lever -l5-, said link being of the turn-buckle type for relative adjustment of the levers l3- and F15- The bell-crank lever -15- is pivotally fulcrumed at -22- to the frame -l-c in a plane between the pedal lever -13- and table 10- to extend forwardly and rearwardly from its t'ulcrum, the rear arm of the lever being relatively long and pivotally connected at -23- to the link -1 6- which, in turn, is pivotally connected at w24- to the intermediate portion of the lever 17%.

'lhe rear end of the bell-crank lever l5- is provided with an extra weight Q5- and together with the link H16- constitutes what may be termed the intermediate toggle connection between the main toggle lever -17- and link -14.

The main or rear toggle lever -17- is pivotally fulcrumed at its lower end at w26- to the base of the -frame -1- just at the rear end of the pedal lever -19- to extend upwardly toward the head-supporting arm +4* and has its upper end pivotally connected at -27- to the lower end of an upwardly extending toggle member pedal 19- by which it v -28- which is preferably composed of-sec-c t. so

tions -29- and -30- having threaded engagement with each other for relative endwise adjustment, the lower section -29- being directly connected to the upper end of 'the lever -17- through the medium of the The upper section '-80- is shouldered against the lower end of and extends through an opening in a yoke member -31- which is eccentrically pivoted at -32- to the intermediate portion of a relatively short lever 3S- This lever 3dis pivotally ulcrumed at its front end at -34 to and between opposite walls of the lengthwise slot in the rear end extension -11- of the head supporting arm 4-.- to rock vertically in said slot. a

The rear end of the lever 33- is provided with a vertical opening +35- for receiving the upper end of a bolt or rod 3.6- which is pivotedat -i-37- to and between the opposite walls of the `opening -35- Ato extend downwardly therefrom through an opening -38- in the lower rear nd of the extension -11- as shown in `ig. l.

A coiled spring 39- surrounds the intermediate portion of the bolt -36 vand has its upper end seated against the underside of the extension -lland its lower end engaged with kan adjustable seat 40- which is held in operative position by an adjusting nut -4 l-.

'lhe yoke member 31 extends through and is pivoted yto opposite walls of a slot 12-d in the intermediate portion of the lever 83- which, as previously stated, is movable in the lengthwise slot in the extension -11- so that the opposite wallsot the last-named slot may serve to hold the pivotal pins '-32- and -37-V against endwise displacement as shown more clearly cooperate with the shouldered portion of the lever -l3 and upper end of the toggle vsection -30-- in holding said section and IMI lever -17- are connected by one or more retracting springs 4G- tending to lex the toggle joint 27- inwardly and .also to elevate the pedal lever for returmng the press head to its open position whenthe latter is released from its pressing posltion or when pressure is removed from the pedal -19-.

'lhe object of the axially adjustable toggle member -28-- is to permit adjustment ot' the press head -3- relatively to the buck -2- according to the thickness of the material operated upon and also to adjust the toggle joint --27-l so as' to prevent 'excessive rearward lflexion of the toggle to a straightened locking position or rather to assure a slight inward flexure of the joint beyond a direct line rbetween the opposite ends of the toggle when the press head is brought to its pressing position and thereby to facilitate the free return of said vpressing head to its open position by the retractmg spring or springs 46. i U

The object of the compensatmg lever -323- and spring 39mV is to establish a resilient connectionbetween the rear toggle and head-supporting arm -4- and thereby to compensate for varying thicknesses of lap " mately the same general direction when operated to open or close the press head and that the pivots 23 and Q4- travel in arcs between the ulcrums -22- and Q6- ofthe levers and "17- respectively and that the pivotal joint 23- between` the lever -15- and llink -16` is movable to opposite sides of a direct line between said ulcrums the object of which is to keep l the link -16- in a osit-ion substantially normal or at right anglbs to the lever -lfin all positions of adjustment or at least in the extreme positions of adjustment so as to enable the press head to be forced to and from its pressing position with lgreater ease and with less power applied to the pedal --19- than has heretofore been practised.

It will also be observed that the link -14- is connected to the pedal lever 19- in such manner as to maintain a position substantially tangential to the arc of movement of its pivotal connection -21- with the bell-crank lever -15-- or approximately normal to a direct line between the fulcrum -22- and toggle j`oint`-23 l of the bellcrank lever particularly when-adjusted to bring the press head to its'pressing position at which time the force applied to the toggle lever --17--` by the toggle lever -15 through the medium of the link 16 will also be substantially normal to a direct line between the fulcrum 2G- and toggle joint -27- of the lever -17-, all of which contributes materially. to the rapidity and ease of operation and power of application of the press head to the work.

The toggle lever -15-- is adjusted by means of the adjustable link -14-so as to prevent straightening of thetoggle joint -23- when the press head is closed thus permitting quick and free return of the press head to its open position when pressure upon the pedal .-19- is released.

Operation.

When the press head is forced to its pressing position as shown by full lines in Fi ure 1 the rear toggle -17- and interme iate toggle 15 will be ymoved toward their straightened positions, which movement will be limited by the engagement of the press head with the work upon the buck but in case the thickness of the work should vary slightly thisn variation will be compensated by the upward rocking movement of the compensating lever 3B-' against the action of its retracting spring -39'- for the reason that when the closing movement of the press head is limited by theengagement with the work on the buck the upward thrust of the rear toggle on the yoke member 3lwill rock the rear end of the lever w33 upwardly about its fulcrum B4- against the action of the spring -39 which may `be comparatively light owing tothe relatively short distancev between the pivots -32- and 3ftas compared with the distance between the fulcrum -34- and pivotal connection -'-37 between the lever A-33- and bolt ---}6, it being understood that this in the underlying portion of the extension -11.

In adjusting the press head to the worky and also in adjusting the toggle joint 27 to prevent straighteningof the toggle it is simply necessary to withdraw the detent -45- from engagement with the hand wheel 43- thus permitting the latter to be turned in one direction or the other for adjusting the section "-30 endwise Vrelatively to the section n29 for varying the distance betweenthe pivots n27- and 32-. i

In like manner the distance between the pivots ---20 and -2l may be varied by the axialadjustment of the link lafor preventing the straightening of the toggle joint -23- between the members l5- and -16-.

When pressure upon thepedal +19- is released the spring 546-- Vaided by the weight -7- will automatically restore the movable parts to the positions shown by dotted lines or until the opening movement of the press head is limited by the engagement of its supporting arm -4- with the yielding buffer -8'.

It will also be noted that the extra weight -25- on the lever -15- may assist in restoring the movable parts to their dotted positions. 0

It will be noted that by connecting the spring -46- diagonally across the levers I3- and 17 enables Vthe toggle joint of the lever -17- to be flexed inwardly and at the same time assures a restoration ofthe pedal lever -13- to its elevated position thereby obviating the use of separate springs for these different operatlons.

When closing the press head the momena frame and a movable pressing element, a

toggle having one of its members fulcrumed on the frame and its other member operatively connected to said element, and pedaloperated means ior applying force to said one member in the direction of flexion of the toggle joint and substantially normal to a direct line between said joint and framefulcrum of the said one meinberlin both extreme positions of adjustment.

2. In a garment pressing machine having a trame and a movable pressing element, actuating means for saidelement including a pedal-lever, a toggle having one of its members fulcrumed on the frame and its other member operatively connected to said element, and means actuated by the pedallever for applying force to one ofthe toggle members in the direction of llexion of the toggle joint and substantially normal to a direct line between the ends of the said one toggle member. y

3. In'a garment pressing machine having a frame anda movable pressing element, a toggle having one of its members 'ulcrumed on the frame and its other member operatively connected to said element, a pedal-- lever fulcrumed on the frame adjacent the first-named fulcrum, and means actuated by the pedal lever for applying force to the toggle in the direction of flexion of the toggle joint and substantially normal to a direct line between the frame-fulcrum of the said one toggle member and the toggle joint.

4. In a garment pressing machine having a frame and a movable pressing element, a toggle having one of its members connected to the movable element and its other member constituting a lever fulcrumed in the frame, and pedal-operated means for applying force to said toggle-lever in the direction of flexion of the toggle joint and substantially normal yto a direct line between the toggle joint and frame-fulcrum of the lever in all positions of adjustment of said lever.

5L In a garment'pressing machine having a frame and a movable pressing element, a toggle having a toggle link fulcrumed on the frame and operatively connected to said element, an additional toggle having a toggle link ulcrumed on the frame and operatively connected to the first-named toggle link and hayin/gthe flexing joint of the ad ditionaltoggle movable to opposite sides of a direct line between the fulcrums of both toggle links, the connection between said toggle links being arranged to maintain a position substantially normal toa direct line between the fulcrum and toggle-joint of the irstnamed toggle link and a pedal-lever for actuating the additional toggle link.

6. In a garment pressing machine having a frame and a movable pressing element, a

toggle having a toggle link fulcrumed on the frame and operatively connected to said element, a pedal lever, a bell-crank lever, a link pivotally connected to both levers to move endwise approximately tangential to the are of movement of its point of connection with the bell-crank lever` in all positions of adjustment, and means actuated by the bellcrank lever for applying motive force to the toggle link in a direction substantially normal to a direct line between the frame-fulcrum of the toggle link and joint of the toggle. j V

7. In a garmentpressing machine having a frame and a movable pressing element, a toggle having a toggle link fulcrumed on the frame and operatively connected to sai-d element, an additional toggle having one of its members constituting a bell-crank lever fulcrumed on the frame and its other member pivotally connected to said toggle-link between the ulcrum' of said link and flex-v ing joint of the first-named toggle and arranged to maintain a position at substantially right angles toa direct line between the fulcrum of said link and the joint of the first-named toggle in all positions of adjustment, a pedal lever, and a lirk pivotally connected to the pedal lever, and to said bell-crank lever and arranged to maintain a position approximately tangential to the arc of movement of its point of connection with the bell-crank lever.

8. A garment pressing machine as in claim 5 in which extra weight is applied to one of the members of the additional tog vgle near its flexing joint to assist in flexing said joint away from a direct line between the yfulcrum and point of connection of the additional toggle with the first-named toggle when the movable pressing element is released from its pressing position.

9. A garment pressing machine as in claim 5 in which the pedal lever and toggle leverare yieldingly connected to each other4 by a retracting spring extending across the second-named 'toggle to move to opposite sides of the flexing joint ofthe latter as the pressing element is moved to and from its pressing position.

10. In a garment pressing machine having a movable pressing element, a lever fulcrumed on said element, resilient connections between said lever and element, and means operatively connected to said lever for operating the pressing element.

11. In a garment pressing machine having a movable pressing element, a leverv fulcrumed near one end upon said element, resilient connections between the other end of the lever and element, and means operatively connected to the intermediate portion of said lever for operating the movableelement.

12. In a garment pressing machine having a. movable pressing element, a lever fulcrumed near oneend upon said element, resilient connections between the other end of the lever and element, a yoke pivoted to the intermediate portion of the lever, and means operatively connected to the yoke for operating the pressing element.

13. 1n a garment pressing machine having a movable pressing element, a lever fulerumed on said element', between said lever and element, a yoke pivoted to the lever between the fnlcrnm and spring, a toggle operatively connected to the yoke, and means for flexing the toggle for moving the pressing element to and from its pressing positions.

.141. In a garment pressing machine having a frame, a buck, anda press head movable into and out of pressing co-action ywith the buck, a lever fulcrumed on the head, spring connections between the lever and press head, a yoke pivoted to the lever, a toggle having one of its links operatively connected to the yoke and its other link .fulernmed on the frame, an additional toggle operatively connected `to the first-named' toggle to apspring connectionsl ply its force thereto in a direction at substantially right angles to a direct line between the frame fulcrum and the toggle 'joint of the first-named toggle in all positions of adjustment, and pedaLopeI-ated means fo' applying motive force to the sec ond-named toggle in a direction at approximately right angles to a direct line between the ends of the-additional toggle.

15. In a garment pressing machine, a lrame, cooperative pressing elements, one of which is movable toward and from the other about a horizontal axis and provided with a rearwardly extending arm beyond said axis,

,toggle members between the base of the 'l'rame and said arm, additional toggle connections between one of the toggle members and frame and having one of its connections provided with extra weight near its toggle joint, a pedal lever and connections between said pedal lever and the second-named togf gie for operating the same.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of December, 1926.

" HERBERT G. BEEDE. 

